By No Ordinary Means of Communication by laughtershock (NC-17)
Title: By No Ordinary Means of Communication
Fandom: James Bond
Pairing: James Bond/Q
Categories/Genres: Epistolary, Humor, Miscommunication, Pining, Romance
Length: Medium (7902 words)
Warnings: N/A
Author on LJ: laughtershock
Author Website: laughtershock
Summary:
Q can’t help but wonder how, exactly, his life has come to this.
(The one where Bond discovers post-it notes, Q discovers how not to talk about feelings, and together, they fight crime make things far more complicated than necessary.)
Review:
I have a deep-seated weakness for pining!Bond, but an admittedly stupid reluctance to read epistolary fic, which is why I'm very grateful for this month's themed rec. Without it, I would probably have never read this particular gem.
By No Ordinary Means of Communication circumvents the usual problem I have with epistolary fic, the focus on isolated messages as opposed to prose, by using one-sentence, or even one-word scraps that will fit on your average Post-it, or can be picked out in word magnets. Additionally, they're the focus of the story without being the main method of storytelling. They punctuate the narrative rather than embodying it, adding humor and flavor and quirky charm without obstructing the story's very natural flow.
laughtershock also uses the medium to demonstrate one of its very real flaws: that written communication is no true substitute for the expressiveness of verbal communication. It's something that we're all familiar with in this electronic age, where texts and tweets and have become a staple of communication. While it's easy to communicate information and meaning in 140 characters, or in the space on a Post-It, the intention behind those brief messages sometimes gets lost somewhere along the way. It's that very miscommunication of intention that fosters the additional complications Bond and Q's developing relationship in that same way it has left all of us staring down at our phones, wondering how the hell we're meant to respond to those uncharacteristic-seeming texts from the people we thought we knew well.
All in all, hats off to the mods for forcing me to stumble out of my comfort zone only to trip over this excellent fic. I'll definitely give the next epistolary fic I come across a second glance!
By No Ordinary Means of Communication
Fandom: James Bond
Pairing: James Bond/Q
Categories/Genres: Epistolary, Humor, Miscommunication, Pining, Romance
Length: Medium (7902 words)
Warnings: N/A
Author on LJ: laughtershock
Author Website: laughtershock
Summary:
Q can’t help but wonder how, exactly, his life has come to this.
(The one where Bond discovers post-it notes, Q discovers how not to talk about feelings, and together, they fight crime make things far more complicated than necessary.)
Review:
I have a deep-seated weakness for pining!Bond, but an admittedly stupid reluctance to read epistolary fic, which is why I'm very grateful for this month's themed rec. Without it, I would probably have never read this particular gem.
By No Ordinary Means of Communication circumvents the usual problem I have with epistolary fic, the focus on isolated messages as opposed to prose, by using one-sentence, or even one-word scraps that will fit on your average Post-it, or can be picked out in word magnets. Additionally, they're the focus of the story without being the main method of storytelling. They punctuate the narrative rather than embodying it, adding humor and flavor and quirky charm without obstructing the story's very natural flow.
laughtershock also uses the medium to demonstrate one of its very real flaws: that written communication is no true substitute for the expressiveness of verbal communication. It's something that we're all familiar with in this electronic age, where texts and tweets and have become a staple of communication. While it's easy to communicate information and meaning in 140 characters, or in the space on a Post-It, the intention behind those brief messages sometimes gets lost somewhere along the way. It's that very miscommunication of intention that fosters the additional complications Bond and Q's developing relationship in that same way it has left all of us staring down at our phones, wondering how the hell we're meant to respond to those uncharacteristic-seeming texts from the people we thought we knew well.
All in all, hats off to the mods for forcing me to stumble out of my comfort zone only to trip over this excellent fic. I'll definitely give the next epistolary fic I come across a second glance!
By No Ordinary Means of Communication